Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine

Summary

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued full guidance to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine.

Description

Artificial  intervertebral discs have been developed to act as a functional prosthetic replacement unit for intervertebral units in much the same way as prostheses have been developed for a variety of joints such as the hip or knee. The design of most prosthetic discs is similar, with two metallic endplates separated by a more pliable inner core designed to emulate the biomechanical properties of the nucleus pulposus. The implantation of the prosthetic discs involves a small incision below the umbilicus. The diseased disc is partially or fully excised (depending on the prosthesis used). The vertebral endplates and surrounding spinal ligaments are preserved and help maintain implant stability. Single discs can be replaced, or alternatively, several levels can be replaced during the same surgery. 

The standard intervention for patients with these indications would be discectomy and spinal fusion.

OPCS4.6 Code(s):

There are specific codes available within OPCS-4 to classify lumbar, thoracic and cervical disc replacement; one of the following codes is used depending on the site of the procedure:

V36.1 Prosthetic replacement of cervical intervertebral disc

V36.2 Prosthetic replacement of thoracic intervertebral disc

V36.3 Prosthetic replacement of lumbar intervertebral disc

An additional code will also be added from category V55.- to specify the number of  levels of spine operated on.

Note: Codes within category V55.-  are assigned in second place each time a spinal operation is coded, if the levels of spine are not specified V55.9 Unspecified levels of spine is used.

 

_{The NHS Classifications Service of NHS Connecting for Health is the central definitive source for clinical coding guidance and determines the coding standards associated with the classifications (OPCS-4 and ICD-10) to be used across the NHS.   The NHS Classifications Service and NICE work collaboratively to ensure the most appropriate classification codes are provided.  www.connectingforhealth.co.uk/clinicalcoding}

Details

Contact details:

Links:

	IPG306 Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine: guidance	22 July 2009
	IPG306 Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine: guidance (web format)	07 April 2011
	IPG306 Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine: understanding NICE guidance	22 July 2009
	IPG306 Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine: understanding NICE guidance (MS Word format)	22 July 2009
	IPG306 Amnewid disgiau wedi'u treulio yn rhan isaf asgwrn y cefn â disgiau artiffisial: deall canllawiau NICE (fformat MS Word)	11 December 2009
	IPG306 Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine: consultation comments	22 July 2009
	Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine (interventional procedures consultation)	20 March 2009
	Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine (interventional procedures overview)	20 March 2009